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Make sure you never run out of juice again with these top tips for boosting your phone’s battery.

An iPhone might be one of the coolest gadgets around but once the battery dies, it’s pretty much useless. Could optimised battery charging be the answer to maximising your device’s power? Gadget Cover takes a closer look.

If your phone refuses to charge, however, it might be worth taking a look at our post on the 6 most common reasons why your reliable smartphone just isn't getting any juice.

With many of today’s top-of-the-range iPhones costing big money, theft, loss, breakdown, or accidental damage could end up costing you a small fortune. But with insurance for iPhones in place, you’ll be able to get back to calling, texting and posting in a flash.

What is optimised battery charging?

Despite the thousands of hours of high-quality design, engineering and manufacturing work that goes into the production of an Apple iPhone, there’s one component that’s sure to fail eventually – the lithium-ion battery.

All mobile phone batteries have a finite amount of life. And as the battery starts to run out, you’ll soon encounter problems.

According to Apple, the lifespan of a battery is dependent on its chemical age, which doesn’t just mean how long ago the battery was manufactured. Instead, a battery's chemical age will depend on a variety of factors, including temperature history and charging patterns.

While screens, processors and camera sensors may last for many years, a rechargeable battery like the one in your iPhone is a consumable component that will inevitably become less effective as it ages. This ageing reduces the amount of charge it can hold as well as the battery life and peak performance of your trusty device.

To help prolong the life of its batteries and iPhones, Apple introduced ‘optimised battery charging’ as a new default feature in iOS 13. So, if you have an iPhone model that supports iOS 13 and later versions, it’s time to take advantage of this great feature.

Optimised battery charging was designed by Apple’s experts to help extend the overall lifespan of the iPhone battery. By reducing the wear and tear caused when the battery is constantly charged up to 100%, the battery should last for longer.

When the feature is turned on, your iPhone learns from your daily charging routine and adapts to it accordingly. By using state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms, it analyses when you typically charge your iPhone and for how long you leave it plugged in.

Based on this information, the feature will delay charging your iPhone's battery beyond 80% until just before you typically unplug it. For example, if you usually charge your iPhone overnight (as many people do), the feature will delay the final charge up to 100% until just before you wake up.

By doing this, the iPhone reduces the time your battery spends at 100% charge, which can help extend its overall lifespan.

How to activate and deactivate optimised battery charging

Because this is such a useful feature, you’ll find it activated by default when you first set up your iPhone or after updating iOS. To deactivate or reactivate the feature, go to:

Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging and toggle on/off the Optimised Battery Charging feature

You’ll know the feature is active as a notification will appear on the Lock screen to tell you when your iPhone will be fully charged. If you want to turn off the feature and have your iPhone fully charged sooner, then simply touch and hold the notification and then tap Charge Now.

Be aware, optimised battery charging has been designed to only work in locations where you spend the most time, such as in your home or at work. So, you’ll need to enable some location settings for optimised battery charging to work effectively. These include Location Services, System Customization, and Significant Locations.

Also, because analysis of your sleeping habits and daily usage behaviour is at the core of the feature, if your sleeping hours are irregular or your habits vary (for example, when travelling) then it may not work. This is also the case if you don’t keep your phone connected to a charger for an extended period when you’re asleep.

Should I use optimised battery charging? Weighing up the pros and cons

While optimised battery charging has many advantages, it might not be for everyone. Here’s a quick rundown of the advantages and disadvantages:

Pros of using optimised battery charging

• Improves battery life and reduces battery wear: By reducing the amount of time your iPhone’s battery spends at 100% charge, the feature can help extend its overall lifespan.
• Reduces wear on other iPhone components: Overcharging your iPhone can cause other internal components to be adversely affected by heat.
• Customisable: You can choose to turn it off if you prefer to charge your iPhone to 100% manually.

Cons of using optimised battery charging

• May not work for everyone: If your charging routine varies widely from day to day, the feature may not be able to adapt to it.
• No control over charging speed: When the feature is enabled, your iPhone will charge slowly and may take longer than you’re expecting to reach 100% charge. This can be inconvenient if you’re in a hurry.

Overall, the optimised battery charging feature is seen by many as offering a big benefit in extending the lifespan of your iPhone battery. That said, it may not work for everyone, and some users may still prefer to charge their device manually.

Why not try it out today to see if it works for you? It’s easy to turn it off if it doesn’t!

18 top tips for maintaining your battery

One of the most common reasons for buying a new iPhone is when the battery no longer holds a charge. Give your battery the best chance with Gadget Cover’s 18 top tips for boosting battery life:

1. Monitor battery health: Regularly check on your iPhone's battery health by going to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. Here, you can see the battery's maximum capacity and whether it needs some attention.
2. View Battery Usage information: This will alert you to energy intensive apps.
3. Use optimised battery charging: An important feature to ensure your battery is charged most efficiently.
4. Charge regularly: Ensure the battery is never completely drained of power. Charge the device before the battery level drops below 20%.
5. Check your phone when charging: If you notice your iPhone feels hot when charging, remove it from its case when it’s plugged in.
6. Avoid overcharging: Once the battery reaches 100%, unplug it.
7. Avoid extreme temperatures: The iPhone is designed to operate within certain set temperature limits. Extreme heat will damage the battery and reduce its lifespan.
8. Avoid using your iPhone when charging: Many people continue to use their phone while it’s charging, but this can drain the battery faster.
9. Don’t store a fully charged iPhone: If you’re storing an iPhone away for a while then a battery charge of around 50% is better.
10. Enable Low Power Mode: This can help extend the battery life of your iPhone by reducing power consumption.
11. Reduce brightness: The backlight on your iPhone uses a great deal of energy. Lowering the screen brightness in Settings, turning on Auto-Brightness or selecting Dark mode can help extend the battery life of your iPhone.
12. Close unused apps: Close any apps that are running in the background, as they can drain the battery even when they’re not in use.
13. Turn off location services and push notifications: Turn off energy intensive activities like these.
14. Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use: But remember to turn them back on when necessary!
15. Use Wi-Fi rather than mobile data to access data: Wi-Fi uses far less power than a mobile network.
16. Use the original iPhone charger and cable where possible: Different chargers can damage the battery and reduce its lifespan.
17. Update to the latest software: From improved usability to increased security, there are lots of reasons why your iPhone should be using the latest OS. Remember that insurance for iPhones can protect you from some phone security breaches, too, specifically unauthorised use of your e-wallet.
18. Consider a battery replacement: If your iPhone's battery health is suffering, consider getting it replaced by an authorised service provider.

For most iPhone users, you can expect a battery lifespan of between three to five years with proper care but these tips could help you boost that even further.

Another way to prolong the life of your device is to protect it with insurance for iPhones. Gadget Cover policies are packed with benefits for phones less than 18 months old.

Find insurance for iPhones today

Apple certainly designs some of the best devices in the world. So, you’re certain to be very happy if you purchase one of their handsets.

But remember, if you want to keep your device well protected you’ll want an iPhone insurance policy that’s suitable for your device, requirements and budget. Gadget Cover policies offer a range of benefits including protection against accidental damage, liquid damage, theft, breakdown, unauthorised usage and even loss.

Additional benefits include family cover, worldwide cover, e-Wallet cover and accessories *.

Insurance for iPhones is easy to arrange with a quick quote from Gadget Cover.

*Subject to policy terms and condition